Xuan paper

Xuan paper
Name	Xuan paper
Caption	Traditional sheet of paper
Type	Paper
Invented	Tang dynasty
Place	Xuancheng

Xuan paper is a traditional handmade paper originating from Xuancheng in Anhui province during the Tang dynasty. It is renowned for its use by literati and artists such as Wang Xizhi, Su Shi, and Zhao Mengfu and for being the substrate of works exhibited in institutions like the Palace Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The paper became a material of choice for calligraphy and painting in the courts of the Song dynasty and the Ming dynasty, later gaining international recognition through exchanges with collectors in Japan, Korea, and Europe.

History

The origins trace to artisanal workshops in Xuancheng during the Tang dynasty, where techniques evolved alongside innovations attributed to artisans patronized by the imperial court and literati circles centered in Chang'an and Hangzhou. Under the Song dynasty, demand from painters associated with the Southern Song dynasty court and scholars like Mi Fu stimulated refinements in processing and sizing. During the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, production centers expanded, linked to merchants trading through Canton and collectors associated with the Palace Museum; the paper’s reputation spread to Edo period Japan and to collectors in Paris and London. In the 20th century, conservators at institutions such as the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institution studied its fibers and methods, influencing restoration practices after cultural shifts like the Xinhai Revolution and the Cultural Revolution.

Materials and Production

Traditional manufacture employs plant fibers from sources near Xuancheng, notably bark from the Pteroceltis tatarinowii tree, supplemented by bast fibers from mulberry and other regional species traded via routes that touched Suzhou and Wenzhou. The process includes retting, pounding in wooden mortars associated with workshops around Yixian, and the formation of sheets on bamboo screens influenced by tools used in paper-making in Han China. Sizing historically used alum and gelatin derived from animal hide processed in markets along the Yangtze River near Nanjing. Skilled families and guilds, sometimes connected to patronage networks around the Imperial Examination system and local magistracies in Anhui, maintained recipes transmitted across generations.

Types and Classification

Artisans classify varieties by texture, weight, and absorbency into categories often referenced by collectors in Beijing and dealers in Shenzhen: raw (unsized) and processed (sized) types, thin and thick formats used by schools such as the Southern School and the Zhe School. Specific named forms—favored by calligraphers like Wang Xizhi and painters like Zhang Daqian—are identified in catalogues compiled by provincial bureaus and by curators at the National Palace Museum and the Shanghai Museum. International dealers in Tokyo and Seoul also adopt classification schemes when authenticating works attributed to masters linked to the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty.

Properties and Uses

The paper’s noted qualities—long fibers, high wet strength, and controlled absorbency—make it ideal for calligraphy practiced by literati exemplars such as Wang Xizhi and for ink wash painting by artists in the lineage of Shitao and Bada Shanren. Conservators at the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art value it for repairs to scrolls originating from collectors associated with the Palace Museum and private holdings in Kyoto. Printers and publishers in Shanghai and Nanjing historically used certain grades for reproducing woodblock prints tied to collections in Nagasaki and Lisbon. The paper also figures in rituals and ceremonies recorded in records associated with the Imperial Examination and with monastic communities near Mount Wutai.

Cultural Significance and Artistry

As a medium, it shaped aesthetics developed by masters like Mi Fu, Zhao Mengfu, and Dong Qichang, enabling brush techniques that defined schools such as the Southern School and influencing collectors in Japan and Korea. It features in masterpieces held at the Palace Museum, circulating through collectors’ networks between Suzhou scholars and merchant-patrons in Canton. Its symbolic value appears in literary references found in anthologies compiled during the Song dynasty and in catalogues produced under the auspices of the Qianlong Emperor.

Conservation and Preservation Methods

Conservators at institutions such as the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Palace Museum apply methods adapted to the paper’s fiber structure: controlled humidity protocols developed from studies of artifacts from Nanjing and Beijing collections; deacidification practices debated among restoration scholars linked to the Getty Conservation Institute; and mending techniques using compatible fibers sourced from regions around Xuancheng and workshops trained in traditions retained by families documented in surveys by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Ethical guidelines for treatment reference charters used by the International Institute for Conservation and by curators coordinating loans to museums in Paris and New York.

Category:Chinese paper